| dc.description.abstract | Since the beginnings of the Republic of Poland II, military circles appreciated the role and meaning of military training based on physical education. It was indispensable for the civil defence preparation of the society in the situation of insufficient military equipment to train levies within mandatory military service. Twice in 1922 and 1924, ineffective measures were taken to regulate the matter of physical education and military training by way of a legal act. In that context, local committees of physical education and military training started to emerge, first spontaneously and then upon the army’s initiative. In 1925, the government appointed the Chief Council of Physical Education and Military Training with the Minister of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment. The political and social situation together with financial difficulties prevented its activities. However, at that time whole Poland was already covered with a network of voivodeship and county committees of physical education and military training. After the May coup, which deferred subsequent legal moves, the State Office of Physical Education and Military Training (PUWFiPW), Council of Physical Education and voivodeship, county and city committees of physical education and military training were established. The Office was connected with the department of military affairs and it had special powers with reference to other departments. Regionally, in 1928 at every Corps District Headquarters, District Offices of Physical Education and Military Training were appointed together with subordinate regional, district and county commanding officers of physical education and military training. Military training in practice was conducted in school troops and organisations of military training. Among women, there were organisations centred on the Social Committee of Women Training for the National Defence (later PWK). Gradually, specialised military training was also developing, in field such as aviation, electrical engineering, radiotelegraphy, horse-riding, mailing, forestry, cycling, motoring and scouting. In the second half of the nineteen thirties, headquarters of military training and PWK, Rifle Association, Academic League, Work Brigades, units of National Defence and the Federation of Polish Unions of Motherland Defendants and Reserve Unions were subject to PUWFiPW, and in May 1939, the Director of the Office became the General of the National Defence. Evaluating the achievements of PUWFiPW, it has to be agreed that in physical education and sport, the social trend was excessively subjugated to government authorities, whereas in military training, against the financial difficulties a compromise solution was taken by introducing military training to schools, whereas leaving it in the hands of social organisations for the out-of-school youth. It was the best possible solution, its correctness proven by thousands of young soldiers of the Polish underground state in the years of the World War Two. | en_EN |
